Lions Not Lambs

At that time the Lord appointed seventy-two others whom he sent ahead of him in pairs to every town and place he intended to visit. He said to them, "The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest. Go on your way; behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves. Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals; and greet no one along the way. 

Into whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace to this household.' If a peaceful person lives there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you. Stay in the same house and eat and drink what is offered to you, for the laborer deserves his payment. Do not move about from one house to another. Whatever town you enter and they welcome you, eat what is set before you, cure the sick in it and say to them, 'The kingdom of God is at hand for you.'

Whatever town you enter and they do not receive you, go out into the streets and say, 'The dust of your town that clings to our feet, even that we shake off against you.' Yet know this: the kingdom of God is at hand. I tell you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom on that day than for that town."

The seventy-two returned rejoicing, and said, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us because of your name." Jesus said, "I have observed Satan fall like lightning from the sky. Behold, I have given you the power to 'tread upon serpents' and scorpions and upon the full force of the enemy and nothing will harm you.  Nevertheless, do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice because your names are written in heaven." (Luke 10:1-12, 17-20)

Wow!  If only it were so.  Have we been given the power to 'tread upon serpents' and scorpions and upon the full force of the enemy nothing will harm us?  Like the 72, can we claim even the demons are subject to us because of Jesus’ name?  

We are to labor for Jesus, and that labor likely will require great sacrifice.  However, the demons will not be subject to us, unless they are internal, and our faith in Jesus acts like a bludgeon to beat them into submission. 

And how do we contend with the understanding that Jesus sends us like lambs among wolves?  Shaking dust off our feet against them seems like a pretty poor self-defense mechanism. At least he warns us that many people will not appreciate what we have to say on his behalf, and they will not be peaceful.  Nevertheless, we must not fear; we must be courageous because he is always with us giving us lambs strength and a realization that Satan has fallen like lightning from the sky.  

However, having fallen, Satan is not defeated.  Satan roams the earth. Peter gave us a firm warning about this lion.  He said: “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Satan wants to devour and destroy you, just like a roaring and hungry lion.”  

We timid lambs must transform ours into brave lions through our faith in the Lion of Judah, and then behave like Simba of The Lion King to defeat the many roaring and hungry Scars we encounter in our lives.

Deacon David Pierce